JamesB

Unlucky for Sheffield tonight losing Stead early doors, would probably have picked up at least one point otherwise. I guess the result means that a win on Thursday sees us in to the play offs. Couldn't have seen that two months ago.

Correct. The post was made whilst Heeps was still being attended to on the track and by the posters own admission, he was not in attendance.

That finally proves that you cannot be a real speedway fan. Any real fan will always as a first priority be concerned about the wellbeing of an injured rider.

That is a brilliant performance from all 7 under pressure. Well done to all. Are we going to make it?

Good performance from the Witches but against very poor opposition. Great to see Danyon win his first PL race. It's not really possible to describe how bad Workington were. You had to be there to understand how bad they were, often both riders were half a lap adrift.

So, if we win all the home meetings and can pick up a 4 point win at Redcar, would 43 points see us sneak in to the play offs? Sorry, working off an old table so 1 home meeting too many. Still, would 40 be enough?

I assume Baldy will provide the text updates, but happy to step in if you need an updater.

At least one broken rib and off to hospital according to Stephen Foster.

Thanks.

Does anyone know if Sarjeant is riding tonight? Just noticed that he did not ride for Coventry last night and their website states that he is hoping to be fit for their meeting tomorrow.

So, we finally get a decent return from the reserves and the top four go AWOL. I really can't work this team out.

It was a win, but that's about all you can say for it. It's going to take a very good performance on Saturday to progress. King looked down on power all night. You could live with Ritchings not scoring much away so long as he was picking up 3-4 at home, but there doesn't look to be much prospect of that at the moment. Kennett was imperious and a Witch didn't get close all night.

A good win by a decent margin considering King had an average night and Kerr didn't score in his first two outings. Great to see Paco getting a win and six in total, you could really see what it meant to him. Also, well done to Sarjeant who is starting to look like a good signing. I thought Josh Bates looked good for Sheffield. Crowd seemed to be decent as well and probably a hundred or two above the Thursday average. I can see Saturday becoming the race night if the Elite league picks Thursday as one of its set nights.

An hour or so of light showers that now seem to have stopped and the forecast is no more rain today. I am more confident about tonight after the last two performances and hopefully Ritchings and Castagna can get a few points.

s There are strong suggestions that Thursday will be one of the two Elite racing nights next season. More non Thursday meetings this year could be the promotion trying to understand the demand if they have to move away from Thursday.

I am not going to judge anybody on the strength of one meeting. Hopefully, that was Castagna and Sarjeant's bedding in meeting. I thought Ritchings did a good job and it looks like there may be some potential there.

Has he been signed as an asset or on loan? The article on the official website initially reads like it's a full signing but then at the end makes reference to Steve Jansen donating half the loan fee to the SRBF.

You are correct. John was a latecomer to speedway having ridden grasstrack from a young age, however many of those who subsequently followed the same route at Ipswich were much younger. John says in his book that he found it easier than most other riders to ride rough tracks because of his background. I guess if you have natural ability on a bike then you have a chance of switching disciplines successfully.

Have a read of John Louis' book. John himself 'just got on a speedway bike' direct from grasstrack as did many other successful Witches riders of the 70's.

I don't really see a stand out team at the moment. Glasgow and Ipswich have gone for the top heavy approach whilst most others have gone for depth. I quite like the look of the Newcastle line up especially as they have 7.2 available for the final pick.

Many thanks for your expressions of concern. I'm happy with the team. There are some ifs and buts, however I think you will probably end up saying that about every team as they are announced. It's all speculation until March. Let's hope for a season of entertaining and enjoyable speedway!

I would expect to see him riding in Europe somewhere.

There's a few references on here to weak looking reserves. Each team has to have an NL 3 pointer, so we're all in the same boat there. I don't profess to be a great expert on NL riders, but I trust Louis as an ex rider to be able to spot one of the better ones. The majority of us wanted a more top heavy team and with that you have to accept that you are not going to have a 4 - 5 point reserve. I think it looks decent and there's only 42.5 points available!

I like the look of that line up, but then again I've said that for the past couple of years. I have never been Risager's greatest fan, but as a second string I think he should be strong and will hopefully average 6 - 7. Covatti has the ability to add a bit to his average and Sarjeant is a stronger option in the main body of the team than Nielsen. I think there is upside in Sarjeant's average. Whether the team is capable of actually winning something will come down to how well Kerr and Castagna perform. I thought Kerr was excellent at Foxhall last season and if he has fully recovered he could be a strong third heat leader. If Risager and Kerr do perform well, that's a team with potentially 3 1/2 - 4 heat leaders in it. AS I say, looks a decent line up with a few who could/should add to their starting averages. Roll on March.

I would agree with all of that. Nielsen is a bit of a concern in the main team, however he did seem to push on a bit towards the end of the season. I would imagine it was a close call between him and Morris.